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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29724297">When We Exhale</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoisiteMoon/pseuds/ZoisiteMoon'>ZoisiteMoon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Together Forever [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Secret Show</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Camp Nanowrimo, Discussion of Abortion, F/M, Kidfic, Mentions of Preeclampsia, Mentions of miscarriage, Rainbow Baby, Secret Relationship, Slice of Life, Stillbirth, Unplanned Pregnancy, Visiting Someone's Grave, gender reveal party</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:21:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,006</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29724297</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoisiteMoon/pseuds/ZoisiteMoon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Anita finds herself pregnant again much sooner than she expected. How will she and Victor get through this?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anita Knight/Victor Volt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Together Forever [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927258</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story was inspired by one of the stories within a story from Eszie's "How to write a TSSfanfiction?" I'm not specifying which story that is because I don't want to spoil anything at the moment. Still, enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Oh my God..." Anita couldn't help but mutter. "It... it can't be."</p><p>But there it was. Two lines staring right at her on the pregnancy test. It was too soon. The twins had just celebrated their first birthday. How could she possibly expect to be able to raise three children under the age of three? She didn't think she was ready for this. It seemed like just yesterday that Liam and Millie had just been brought home from hospital. How was she going to tell her children that they might be getting a younger sibling, especially in a way they could understand? Never mind that, how was she going to tell Victor? Would he want to have another child at this point?</p><p>"Anita?" Victor called out to her from the other side of the door. "Are you in there?"</p><p>"Just a second!" Anita replied, anxiety slipping through into her voice.</p><p>A few seconds passed before Victor spoke again. "Okay, but hurry up. I gotta take a shower in a few minutes."</p><p>"Alright, wouldn't want to keep you waiting."</p><p>Anita didn't hear much from him after that. She made sure to listen to the footsteps as they grew quieter and quieter. Perfect. Now all she had to do was wrap everything up and then let Victor use the shower. Without a moment of hesitation, she got off the loo, flushed it, washed her hands, and then left the bathroom. She made sure to leave the pregnancy test behind, but leave it in such a position that Victor wouldn't be able to see it until after he'd already showered. Okay, what now? She knew she'd have to see a doctor at some point to confirm if she was actually pregnant, but she wasn't sure when would be a great time. She also wasn't sure who she could tell besides Victor. She decided she'd have to wait until Victor found the test before she could tell anyone else anyway.</p><hr/><p>"Hey, what's thi― a―a pregnancy test?"</p><p>Victor was absolutely dumbfounded to see a pregnancy test just laying out there for him to see. He wasn't sure to make of it. Could Anita actually be pregnant again? No way, that couldn't be it. The twins were only just a year old. How on Earth would it be possible to take care of three children under the age of three? He had to talk to her. After drying himself off, Victor grabbed the pregnancy test and made his way out the bathroom door. He soon found Anita just sitting there on the couch in stunned silence.</p><p>"Hey, Anita," Victor said as he sat down next to her. "What's up? Why'd you leave your pregnancy test out for me to see?"</p><p>"I..." Anita took a deep breath and sighed. "I figured this was how I could tell you I'm pregnant again without words."</p><p>"Oh my God... Anita. How did this happen?"</p><p>"You know exactly how this happened, Victor. It was just like when we conceived Liam and Millie." She then lowered her voice down to a whisper while she started crying. "What do we do now, Victor? It's hard enough having to deal with two babies at once. How are we supposed to handle three?"</p><p>"Anita, we've dealt with Impostor attacks, Reptogator attacks, and a bunch of other stuff. Hell, we even helped save the galaxy from threats from other planets. Surely, we could handle three babies at once." </p><p>Anita just sniffled. "Leave it to you to look on the bright side. I'm not even sure how I want to deal with this pregnancy... like, do I want to give this baby up for adoption? Do I want to abort it? Or do I want to keep it? When do we tell the twins?" She resumed her sobbing.</p><p>Victor just hugged her tightly. "It's okay, baby… we'll figure this out." A few seconds went by before he spoke again. "Tell you what, why don't we go see the doctor later this week?"</p><p>Anita gave another sniffle. "That's kinda what I planned to do anyway."</p><p>"Oh, okay. Awesome. I'm sure they know more about this stuff than we do."</p><p>Anita sighed, having just now stopped crying. "Yeah, I'm sure they do."</p><hr/><p>"Well, Miss Knight, you are definitely pregnant," Dr. Pertwee announced. "More specifically, you're six weeks along."</p><p>Victor squeezed Anita's hand. "Wow... so how much longer do we have to go?"</p><p>"Since most pregnancies last forty weeks..." Dr. Pertwee did some math in his head to figure out how much time was left. "I would therefore say that you have thirty-four weeks to go, and that's assuming you even make it to that point. I would've thought you'd know this already, but apparently not."</p><p>Victor couldn't help but blush. "Sorry."</p><p>Anita took a deep breath. "Alright, Dr. Pertwee. That's all I needed to know. Victor and I should be going now..."</p><p>"Not so fast, Anita. Your husband said earlier that you were contemplating not keeping the baby or even the pregnancy. Is that true?"</p><p>Anita took another deep breath. "I'm afraid so."</p><p>"I see..." Dr. Pertwee produced two different brochures from his coat pocket. "I tell you what. I'm going to give you two brochures to give you a little insight on what to expect with each decision. I can't go in great detail about them today, but the two brochures will probably cover some ground. One thing you need to remember, though, is that this is a big deal not just for you, but also your husband and children. You don't have to decide right now, but you will have to make a decision soon. Choose wisely, Miss Knight. I've had a lot of patients rush this decision and then later come to regret it. Whatever you decide is up to you..."</p><p>Anita just nodded wordlessly while Dr. Pertwee handed her and Victor the brochures.</p><p>"I'm glad you understand," Dr. Pertwee said. "Alright, I expect to see you back here on the 18th. Hopefully, you'll have started taking your prenatal vitamins by then. Don't be afraid to ask any more questions over the phone, alright?"</p><p>"Alright," Victor and Anita said simultaneously while leaving the doctor's office.</p><p>Victor gave his wife a hug once they'd left the room. "Hey, it's gonna be alright."</p><p>"I'm not so sure about that," Anita said. "So many things could go wrong at this point."</p><p>"Like what, for example?"</p><p>"Well..." Anita tried to think of the worst possible thing that could happen during a pregnancy. "I could have a miscarriage. Do you remember how close I was to losing the twins when I'd been shot?"</p><p>Victor tried not to conjure up the memory of what had happened that day, but like a bad dream, it came to him. "I was so scared..."</p><p>"So was I. I still can't believe our children are even alive today. It's... it's a miracle."</p><p>"Yeah, but we were able to get through that. We can get through this, too. We're partners, after all... in marriage and at work."</p><p>"Easy for you to say."</p><p>Victor jokingly punched her on the arm. "Hey, I'm only trying to help!" His expression then softened up. "Like I said, we're partners in marriage and at work. From the moment we met, I promised that I would help you out no matter what."</p><p>Anita smiled. "Thank you." She then took a deep breath. "Alright, first off, we're going to have to tell your mother. I arranged for us to visit her later today."</p><p>"What about the twins?"</p><p>"We tell them last."</p><p>Victor quickly nodded. "Gotcha."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Victor and Anita both managed to make it at their destination on time, even with prams in tow. Anita's nerves were still on edge as she wondered how exactly to break the news to Mildred that she was going to be a grandmother again. It took a few moments before Anita knocked on the door.</p><p>Anita took a deep breath and told herself, "It's okay. It's okay."</p><p>The door opened to reveal Mildred just a few seconds later.</p><p>"Oh, hey, guys," Mildred said. "It's so nice of you to come over."</p><p>"You too, Mom," Victor replied. "So... what's for dinner?"</p><p>“Oh, I ordered pizza if that’s alright with you guys.”</p><p>“I hope you ordered veggie pizza.”</p><p>Mildred just chuckled. “Of course I did. I wouldn’t dream of betraying my little boy’s dietary choices.”</p><p>Anita and Victor just laughed nervously, trying to stay calm about the news they placed to give her.</p><p>Mildred couldn’t help but immediately notice. “Is everything alright with you guys?”</p><p>Victor started patting Anita’s back while the latter shook like a leaf. “Uh, listen, Mom. There’s something Anita and I need to tell you, and it’s not exactly... good news.”</p><p>“What is it?” Mildred then asked half-jokingly, “You’re pregnant again, aren’t you?”</p><p>Tears began welling up in Anita’s eyes. “Yes.”</p><p>Mildred wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that.</p><p>“I know, I know,” Victor quickly said. “It’s a lot to handle, but...”</p><p>“So I’m going to be a grandma again?” Mildred asked once the shock had worn off.</p><p>Victor nodded. “Yeah. I never would have thought it’d happen so soon.”</p><p>“Me neither,” Anita chimed in. “I mean, the twins just had their first birthday... I have no idea how we’re supposed to raise three babies all at once.”</p><p>Mildred reached out and clasped Anita’s hands into her own. “Listen. Everything should turn out fine. You and Victor have done so well to take care of Liam and Millie and keep them safe. You two are better parents now than I was when I suddenly had to take care of Victor by myself.”</p><p>“Well, thanks, but...”</p><p>“But nothing. I’m just happy for you guys, that’s all. I couldn’t have asked for better people to take care of my grandchildren than you.” A brief pause followed before she spoke again. “So how far along are you anyway?”</p><p>“Six weeks. I haven’t been pregnant for very long.”</p><p>“Still... I know you guys can handle this.”</p><hr/><p>A lot ran through Anita’s mind while she ate pizza with her husband and mother-in-law. Meanwhile, Liam and Millie just ate some dry cereal in bowls firmly suctioned to their high chairs. </p><p>Could she really go through with this pregnancy, especially where the soon-to-be older siblings were concerned? Maybe it would just be easier to get an abortion. That way, the twins would never have to know that their mother was pregnant, and things would go back to how they were before. Just like last time, however, an abortion didn't sit right with her. Terminating the pregnancy would mean destroying potential life. Sure, at this point, it was merely a clump of cells, but who was to say it wouldn't go on to do great things and maybe even help change the world for the better? She settled it on keeping it for now and then maybe giving the child up for adoption in the future. After all, some couples out there really wanted kids but just couldn't. Shouldn't she want to help them out?</p><p>Well, she’d leave that kind of worrying for her future self. She had to focus on what needed to be done in the present time. That, of course, meant going through this second pregnancy... seeing how it would go.</p><p>In just the blink of an eye, two weeks came and went. At eight weeks, it was time for Anita to go in for a doctor’s appointment and get her very first sonogram. As usual, she asked Victor to come with. That left her mother-in-law in charge of babysitting her grandchildren.</p><p>Anita wasn’t quite sure what to expect coming down here. This was only her second pregnancy, eight weeks in no less, and she was already expecting the worst to happen. It wasn’t this bad when she was pregnant with the twins, but something about this pregnancy seemed... different.</p><p>“Hey, you all right?” Victor asked her gently.</p><p>“I guess,” Anita replied uncertainly. “I’m still not sure about this whole thing.”</p><p>“Anita, we’ve already talked about this. I’ll help you get through this just like how I helped you get through the last pregnancy. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.”</p><p>“I doubt it, but I’m hoping for your sake that you’re right.”</p><p>“Of course I’ll be right.”</p><p>A few minutes later, just when it seemed like Victor and Anita couldn't wait any longer, a nurse came out and called their names.</p><p>"Finally," Anita muttered. "About damn time."</p><p>Victor and Anita both followed the nurse into the ultrasound room, where Anita was given some tests.</p><p>"The doctor will be in shortly," the nurse said before leaving.</p><p>"Alright, thank you," Anita just said.</p><p>With that, Victor and Anita both had no choice but wait for Dr. Pertwee to come in for about three minutes. During that time, Victor texted Changed Daily and asked him what his new name of the day was.</p><p>"I'm glad you asked," Changed Daily texted back. "Now, as you and Anita already know, for the tightest reasons of security, my name is Changed Daily. Today, you may call me..." He sent out his new name just seven seconds later. "Squeegee Ornio."</p><p>The new name sent both Victor and Anita into a laughing fit, which lasted long enough for Dr. Pertwee to notice as he was walking into the room.</p><p>“What’s so funny?” Dr. Pertwee asked curiously.</p><p>“Oh, nothing,” Anita replied while still laughing. “Just a funny meme that our boss sent to us.”</p><p>Dr. Pertwee just smiled naughtily. “Ah. Well, now that you’re both here, why don't we just go ahead and get started?"</p><p>Anita nodded and proceeded to go lay down on the bed. Just like before, during the previous first sonogram, Victor watched as the liquid slowly dripped over the slight bulge of his wife’s stomach. He reached out to touch the gel, but Dr. Pertwee swatted his hand away before he could do so.</p><p>Anita flinched slightly. “God, that’s cold.”</p><p>"Victor," Dr. Pertwee started speaking again. "Didn't you learn anything from last time?"</p><p>Victor just laughed sheepishly. "Guess not."</p><p>"Now, no touching until the test is done. Otherwise, you'll make me have to reapply it all. You understand?"</p><p>"Oh yeah, I gotcha."</p><p>"Okay, good."</p><hr/><p>"Alright, it looks like everything is fine for now," Dr. Pertwee announced. "I do expect you to come back in a few weeks, though. Since you conceived before your little ones had their first birthday, I have a feeling we might need to keep a lookout for preeclampsia."</p><p>Anita gulped. "I'm sure that's not great news."</p><p>"Unfortunately, no. However, just because I have a feeling you might get preeclampsia, that doesn't guarantee that you will get it."</p><p>"Still..." Anita couldn't bear to think of that possibility, as much as she felt pessimistic about it becoming real. "So do I have to start taking prenatal vitamins right now?"</p><p>"Absolutely. Just like last time, I implore you to take your prenatal vitamins whenever you can."</p><p>"Alright, thank you!" Victor and Anita simultaneously called out to Dr. Pertwee while leaving.</p><p>With that, Victor and Anita both left the hospital and headed off to Mildred's house. Victor had enough excitement and joy for them both, which left all the worrying to Anita. She wasn't sure how much she should relax now, especially with the revelation that she could be at risk for preeclampsia. Still, as long as Victor was there to support her and help her through this thing, she knew that even if this pregnancy did go awry, at least she had her family by her side.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>And so, within the next few weeks, Victor and Anita began preparing for their new arrival. Fifteen weeks into her pregnancy, Anita decided that it would be worth it to keep the baby after all. Still, those anxieties over possible forthcoming pregnancy complications and how doomed her second pregnancy could be still lingered. She had to buy herself a doppler as a result. A device like that was a godsend for her, especially where anxious compulsions were concerned.</p><p>Anyhow, at fifteen weeks, it was finally time to tell the twins the news that they would be getting a younger sibling. Neither Victor nor Anita could wait to deliver this kind of life-changing news to the little ones.</p><p>"Gosh, Victor, I'm so nervous," said Anita. "How can we tell them in a way they can understand?"</p><p>Victor thought about this carefully. "We just gotta find the right words, that's all."</p><p>"That... doesn't exactly answer my question, Victor."</p><p>"Well, I'm sure it'll come to us."</p><p>Anita just sighed. "Alright."</p><p>The young parents proceeded to walk over to the playpen where the twins were and clear their throats.</p><p>"Liam, Millie?" Anita began to ask.</p><p>Millie lifted a tennis ball she'd been chewing on from out of her mouth. "Yeah?"</p><p>"Mummy and Daddy would like to tell you something special."</p><p>"Yeah?" Millie just repeated.</p><p>Anita tried to come up with the right words. "Right... well, as it turns out, we're having a baby."</p><p>Liam stopped what he was doing and turned around. "Baby?" he asked.</p><p>"Yeah, a baby," Victor replied. "You know what that means, don't you?"</p><p>Liam shook his head to show he didn't understand.</p><p>"Well," Anita began to speak again. "You'll be getting a little brother or sister soon, which means..."</p><p>Anita's train of thought abruptly came to a stop. Oh, right... they would have to start potty training the twins at some point before their new sibling arrived. She'd have to worry about that later.</p><p>"It means we will have to start moving soon," Victor chimed in.</p><p>Right, that, too. Things were going to change from here on out. In that case, they would have to move to a bigger house that could accommodate at least five people. First, however, they would have to look. And where exactly could they look? Of course, Zillow. Zillow would be able to show him and Anita where to go in terms of housing. So that was where they decided to look.</p><p>It took them some time to browse through all sorts of houses within close proximity. Through process of elimination, they managed to narrow the search down to just three houses. The online pictures of their first potential new house were actually rather nice. </p><p>The house had a huge backyard, complete with a garden hose, a concrete swimming pool, a garden full of petunias and lilies, and even a patio that was equipped with rustic furniture. The kitchen had marble counters with an accompanying island and a double stainless steel sink. The kitchen flooring also had some impressive groutwork done between the tiles, something only a professional home-builder could accomplish. The master bathroom had a gigantic square black bathtub that also doubled as a hot tub, as well as a loo, bidet, and sink that came in matching colors. The living room had wood flooring, a black leather couch, and a Samsung The Frame QLED 4K UHD HDR Smart TV. The master bedroom had the exact same kind of Samsung Smart TV hanging on the wall just a couple feet away from a queen-sized bed, which was adorned with slik sheets and had been placed neatly onto the mahogany bed frame, complete with an engraved headboard. The bedroom carpet took on a tawny color, which helped the painted white walls stand out. A partially-furnished room was designated for the children, only having toddler beds built in the shapes of race cars, a toy chest, and a play table in the middle of it. This room had been painted a pastel yellow color and given the same exact carpeting from the master bedroom. Only one room was left, but it was completely unfurnished.</p><p>Victor and Anita both knew that this would be the house for them, but they made sure to look through the other two houses just to be certain. The other two houses were alright; fairly decent furnishings and design work, but they merely paled in comparison. That was all they needed to confirm their decision.</p><hr/><p>Anita had known from the moment that the twins were born that they wouldn't be living in the flat forever. Ten weeks had passed since she and Victor made the decision to move. She never considered that this would be happening so soon, but here they were. She may have complained about the decor and the entire aesthetic of the flat complex at times, but she still couldn't help but like their presence all the same. They just made her home what it was in terms of identity. Now all that was left of their old home sweet home was emptied rooms filled with boxes that were waiting to be brought into the moving vans.</p><p>"Something wrong, Anita?" Victor asked.</p><p>Anita shook her head no. "No. It's just... I never expected saying goodbye to be so... hard. I mean, I knew things would be different the moment the doctor confirmed my pregnancy, but... it feels like everything is just moving so fast. I'm still not sure if I'm ready for any of this to be honest."</p><p>"I know it's hard, Anita, but... we've been through worse things before."</p><p>"That's true."</p><p>"We can get through this, Anita. I promise."</p><p>Anita nodded solemnly. "I'm sure we can."</p><p>After everything was transferred over into the moving vans, Anita decided to give Squeegee Ornio a call and let him know what was up.</p><p>“Good luck,” Squeegee Ornio said once Anita had caught him up on everything he needed to know. “Also, another thing: for reasons of security, my name is Changed Daily. Just for today, you can call me...” He paused while he read over what his new name was. “Ugh... Scrumpy the Sheepdog...”</p><p>Anita just laughed at this for a good five seconds. Finally, some levity to get her mind off of the immediate future.</p><p>"How are things holding up over there, Scrumpy the Sheepdog?" she amusingly asked her boss.</p><p>"Pretty well. Since you're about twenty-five weeks along now, Professor Professor and I figured that it would be time to bring on a temporary replacement for you."</p><p>"And just who did you get exactly?"</p><p>“Well, Milou started studying over at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop in the fall, so she’ll probably be out of commission for a while. In the meantime, while you and Milou are both taking time off, I decided to bring in a new temporary replacement.”</p><p>"Who is it, Scrumpy the Sheepdog?"</p><p>"Right, I'm glad you asked." He cleared his throat. "Your temporary replacement is one of our top agents from our French counterpart. You can call her Delphine Rambeau."</p><p>"Ah. Neat. Well, I guess I'll talk to you later. Victor and I are just getting ready to move house."</p><p>“Oh, alright. It was nice talking to you.”</p><p>“Me too.”</p><p>“Alright, goodbye.”</p><p>With that, Scrumpy the Sheepdog hung up. Anita let out a long sigh. The weeks up ahead were not going to get any easier on her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Victor looked around as he and Anita were moving everything into their new house. What a great place to raise their children, he thought. It seemed big enough to accommodate a family of five. The rooms seemed spacious, the walls and floors were clean (though they wouldn't be for much longer; the kids would make sure of that), and the furniture looked nary out of place. Anita was especially impressed, making sure to note how spacious the backyard was for her little ones. The only downside to this new place was Victor's mother not living nearby. Still, Victor and Anita both knew they could count on her or Lucy Woo to look after the kids whenever they needed to. All in all, the young parents felt that they'd made a good decision in purchasing this home.</p><p>Anyhow, once Victor and Anita had moved all of the furniture they could into their new home, they decided to look around and note all the things that would need to be unpacked within the week.</p><p>"Man, this is going to be a long week for us, huh?" Victor asked Anita.</p><p>"I bet," Anita replied. "I wonder how Professor Professor and the others are adjusting to us moving house."</p><p>"Probably as well as most of the other people back at the old flat complex. No worries, though. Things will get better for us later."</p><p>"What about your mother? She seemed pretty sad when we told her we'd be moving house. What do you think she's going to do now?"</p><p>"I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Though I did tell her she could still come and babysit whenever we're at work."</p><p>"How did she take it?"</p><p>"Pretty well, I guess. She actually seemed pretty happy about it."</p><p>"That's good. Alright, look around. Which of these do you think we need to unpack first?"</p><p>Victor thought about it for a moment before stumbling upon an idea. "Okay, so first things first, I think we should start unpacking the bedroom furniture."</p><p>"Why do you suppose that?"</p><p>"Well, obviously, we can't sleep on the floor tonight, right?"</p><p>"I guess not. Though I would rather we unpacked the mattresses first before we unpacked the bedframes."</p><p>"That's fine. What about the twins?"</p><p>"Don't worry. I think I know what to do there. We can just have them sleep in our room in cardboard boxes."</p><p>"Why cardboard boxes, exactly?"</p><p>"Well, a cardboard box reduces the risk of infant death brought on by sleep-related causes, like SIDS. It also makes it easy for all of us to sleep in the same room tonight. Plus, because it’s easy to take around, it can also be used for naps and playtime."</p><p>"So is that something we could do for the baby, too?"</p><p>"Yes. I've heard that the best place for a baby to sleep until 6 months of age is in the same room as the parents, so it might be a good idea to test it with the kids now before trying it with the baby."</p><p>"Alright, sounds like a good enough plan."</p>
<hr/><p>Soon, the day of the second appointment arrived. Anita had been trying her best to follow everything Dr. Pertwee had advised of her, including taking her prenatal vitamins. Now Anita was showing a lot more, which was something to be expected now that she was about twenty-five weeks along. Just like last time, Victor came with her to the appointment, and the two of them had Mildred babysit the kids while they were gone.</p><p>Once they had arrived at the hospital for the appointment, they proceeded to wait patiently in the waiting room. While they did so, Anita got a call from Scrumpy the Sheepdog.</p><p>"Hello?" Anita asked out loud.</p><p>"Oh, hello, Anita," Scrumpy the Sheepdog said. "I guess you're waiting for your second sonogram right now, eh?"</p><p>"Yeah, Victor and I can't wait to see what we're having."</p><p>"Well, at least count your blessings it's not twins again."</p><p>Anita rolled her eyes in slight irritation. "Ha ha, very funny."</p><p>"Anyway, for reasons of security, my name is Changed Daily. Today, you may call me..." He paused while he read over what his new name was. "Oh, for the love of... Scrotie McBoogerballs."</p><p>Anita and Victor just laughed at this for a good five seconds.</p><p>Anita began speaking again. "So how are things holding up over there, Scrotie McBoogerballs?"</p><p>"Things have been fine, for the most part," said Scrotie McBoogerballs. "Work hasn't really been the same since you got pregnant again. However, Delphine Rambeau is a blast to have around. She's an exceptional agent over at our French counterpart, so it stands to reason that she would be an exceptional agent here. She even figured out Doctor Doctor's plan to encrypt everyone's computers with ransomware and put a stop to it before she could set it in motion. Did Victor tell you about that?"</p><p>"No, I don't think he did."</p><p>Victor shook his head. "Yeah, I don't think I said anything about it."</p><p>Scrotie McBoogerballs cleared his throat. "Anyway, Delphine has been a fine replacement. We miss you, though, of course. We already can't wait to have you come back to work once you've had the baby."</p><p>Anita chuckled nervously. "Me neither."</p><p>"Mr. Volt, Mrs. Knight?" the nurse called out to the couple.</p><p>"Alright, we'll talk later," Anita told Scrotie McBoogerballs. "I hope everything goes well."</p><p>"Same here," said Scrotie McBoogerballs. "Goodbye for now."</p><p>With that, Scrotie McBoogerballs hung up. Victor and Anita both got up and followed the nurse into the the sonogram room, where she did some tests. They waited a bit before Dr. Pertwee walked into the room.</p><p>"I can see how anxious you both are to get this over with." Dr. Pertwee chuckled. "Alright, alright, let's just get this show on the road." He then turned on the scanning device and let it start up. "I hope you haven't been too nervous to find out what you're having."</p><p>"Don't worry," Anita just said. "I can assure you that we weren't too nervous to find out."</p><p>Dr. Pertwee just smiled. "Good. Now let's get started."</p><p>With that, he performed the sonogram in just a few minutes. He applied the gel and then the scanning device to Anita's abdomen. It took a few minutes, but a fuzzy image of the baby appeared. The outline on the screen had something of a vaguely humanoid appearance, which was pretty typical at this stage. Victor provided a few comic sound effects for the device; some things never changed. In a few minutes, the sonogram was done and over with.</p><p>"Congratulations, Victor Volt and Anita Knight," Dr. Pertwee said with a smile. "You two are going to have a little girl."</p><p>"Wow..." Anita muttered to herself. "Another girl..."</p><p>Victor himself just stood there in awe, trying to take in the news as best as he could. "Wha...? For real?"</p><p>"Yep," Dr. Pertwee replied. "Can't you tell?"</p><p>"Well, yeah. It's just that I'm still in shock, is all."</p><p>"Good. Well, anyway, everything looks healthy so far."</p><p>"I should hope so, Dr. Pertwee," Anita said. "I don't know how much longer I can wait."</p><p>Dr. Pertwee chuckled low. "I'm sure Victor can't, either. Alright, have a nice day now."</p><p>"You too, Dr. Pertwee."</p><p>And with that, Victor and Anita were on their way back home. Now they would have figure out a way the best way to tell their families and coworkers the news... but how would they go about it?</p><p>"Wait a second," Anita said after several minutes of brainstorming. "I think I have an idea."</p><p>"Do tell," Victor replied.</p><p>"How about we throw one of those gender reveal parties we hear so much about?"</p><p>"I don't know, Anita. Aren't those dangerous?"</p><p>"Only when they're thrown by stupid people who don't know what they're doing."</p><p>Victor laughed sheepishly. "Oh, okay. I guess I was starting to think the ones where people died were the norm."</p><p>"Now there's a lot to be done when planning these things. Erm, first of all, we need to set up a date for when it would actually happen."</p><p>"Right."</p><p>"On top of that, we still need to get to work on the nursery. We're going to need to help on that front."</p><p>"Uh-huh."</p><p>"And we're going to have to figure out who we can invite."</p><p>"I'm not inviting Professor Professor to this thing. Who knows how long it would be before he started using me for his latest experiment?"</p><p>"I don't want to invite him, either, but if we don't invite him, we'll never hear the end of it."</p><p>"Goddamn it. At least we can count on Ray to be there."</p><p>"Yep. Lastly, we'll have to figure out some sort of theme for this party. It helps if everything is consistent."</p><p>"Yeah. Everything has to follow a coherent theme."</p>
<hr/><p>After several days of planning and preparation, it was finally time to hold the gender reveal party. Anita, Victor, Liam, and Millie were all wearing casual dresses and suits for the occasion, hoping to help bring some life to this admittedly self-centered gathering. Anita wore a pink maxi dress with puffy sleeves and a billowing, free-flowing skirt. Victor wore a two piece Alice blue suit, complete with a white dress shirt and matching leather shoes. The outfits the toddling twins were wearing were much simpler, at least in comparison to what their parents were wearing. Millie wore a pastel pink dress with a pleated skirt and no sleeves, matching pink dress shoes, and white socks. As for Liam, he wore an outfit identical to the one Victor was wearing: a two piece Alice blue suit, complete with a white dress shirt. The only difference from his father's outfit was that Liam wore pastel blue tennis shoes and plain white socks.</p><p>"Almost time," Anita said. "You want to do the honors and invite everyone in?"</p><p>"Oh yeah, sure," Victor quickly said. "Just as long as Professor Professor doesn't try to experiment on me..."</p><p>"Don't worry, I'll see to it he doesn't lay a finger on you."</p><p>"Thanks, Anita."</p><p>"No problem, Victor."</p><p>And so the gender reveal party was underway. Everyone they knew was there: Professor Professor, Scrotie McBoogerballs, Lucy Woo, Ray Mondo, Special Agent Kowalski, Kent B. Trusted, Mildred, Anita's parents, Delphine Rambeau, Marlon Zen, Stacy Stern, and lastly The Kid (the head of U.Z.Z. and therefore their boss). They all had a great time, just chatting and catching each other up on everything that had happened to them lately. A couple hours passed before it was time to reveal the gender by way of a cake Anita and Victor had baked themselves. They both had the knife at the ready, simultaneously nervous and excited.</p><p>"You ready, Victor?" Anita asked her husband.</p><p>"Ready, Anita," Victor immediately replied.</p><p>"Alright." Anita took a deep breath. "One... two... three!"</p><p>The knife seamlessly sliced into the cake, revealing a pink interior.</p><p>"It's a girl!" Victor and Anita announced at the same time. "It's a baby girl!"</p><p>There were roars of congratulations and hoorahs for the couple all around. In the meantime, Victor dipped down to kiss Anita's baby bump of approximately six months. Almost everyone smiled at how cute this was.</p><p>"Hey, little princess, it's your daddy," Victor said. "I can't wait to meet you!"</p><p>Anita just smiled while everyone helped themselves to some cake and ice cream. Once Victor was done talking to her baby bump like the baby had already arrived, he and Anita sat down with the rest of the guests to have some cake and ice cream as well.</p><p>"So..." Mildred began. "What are you going to name her?"</p><p>"Huh?" Victor asked, confused.</p><p>"I asked what you and Anita were going to name her."</p><p>"Oh..." Victor wasn't quite sure what to think. "We actually haven't thought about names yet. We've been so busy trying to prepare for her arrival and all that that names haven't really come up."</p><p>"Victor's right," Anita chimed in. "Names haven't been all that important to us so far. But maybe you guys can help."</p><p>"Well, I'm sure you'll give her a better name than what I've got right now. That reminds me... for reasons of security, my name is Changed Daily. Today, you may call me..." Scrotie McBoogerballs got a notification beep from his cellphone. "Oh... Snorts the Duckbilled Dinosaur..."</p><p>Everyone laughed for a few seconds.</p><p>"Anyway..." Snorts the Duckbilled Dinosaur continued. "Why not go for something old-fashioned like, erm, Florence or Agatha?"</p><p>"We're trying to name a baby, not a grandma," Victor interjected.</p><p>Anita glowered at him. "Victor."</p><p>"What?" Victor innocently asked. "I'm just saying."</p><p>"Well, what about Theophania?" Professor Professor suggested.</p><p>Victor groaned, facepalming. "Oh God, no! That sounds awful."</p><p>A few other guests gave out their own baby name suggestions before Victor had to stop them and veto all the suggestions. Anita wasn't sure what name she wanted to use herself until she got an idea.</p><p>"Victor," Anita suddenly said.</p><p>"What is it?" Victor curiously asked.</p><p>"Do you remember when we were first looking at this house on Zillow?"</p><p>"Yeah, why?"</p><p>"Well, I distinctly remember seeing some flowers that were kinda of a light pink color. I think I remember reading about how they're known as surprise lilies or resurrection lilies because their flowers spring dramatically from the ground in mid- to late summer."</p><p>"Where are you going with this?"</p><p>"I think I figured out the perfect name for our daughter... Lily."</p><p>"Lily?"</p><p>Anita smiled lovingly at Victor. "Yes, Lily. She's like those flowers I saw. She appears when you least expect it, looking to be nothing but something that might cause problems, only to turn out to be something amazing and beautiful."</p><p>Victor smiled back at her, laying his hand flat against her belly and kissing her cheek. "That's... actually a good idea. I like that."</p><p>Anita couldn't help but blush. "Me too."</p>
<hr/><p>In the days that followed the gender reveal party, Mildred and Lucy rushed to help finish up the nursery for Victor and Anita's soon-to-be-born third child. Anita's parents purchased a lot of funny toys, especially ones that weren't exactly marketed towards babies. Everyone else made their own little contributions for the nursery, whether they actually pertained to being appropriate for babies or not. Soon, as if in no time at all, the nursery was finished. Anita looked around the finished nursery, eyeing every nook and cranny within her field of vision. Like the rest of the family, it was now waiting for their baby.</p><p>Anita sighed a little bit and sat down in the rocking chair. "Just three more months, sweetie. Then your father and siblings and I can finally meet you."</p><p>"You can't wait, can you?" she suddenly heard Victor ask.</p><p>She turned to see Victor sitting down next to her. She just shook her head.</p><p>"Yeah, me neither," Victor said in response. "I can't believe how close we're getting to becoming a family of five."</p><p>"Me neither," Anita rejoined. "Shouldn't be that much longer." All of a sudden, she felt a sharp pang against her stomach. "Lily just kicked."</p><p>"Ooh, can I feel it?" Victor asked excitedly.</p><p>"Of course you can." Anita laughed a little bit and she grabbed Victor's hand, placing it on where Lily had been kicking.</p><p>"Wow, she is going to town..." Victor muttered. "I bet Lily will be just like you, kicking ass whenever she can."</p><p>"Well, I don't know about that, but it is amazing, isn't it? We're having another little us, someone for Liam and Millie to protect and cherish at all times."</p><p>Victor nodded his head. "Yeah..."</p><p>Anita couldn't believe it. As if out of thin air, she'd forgotten why she was so worried about this pregnancy. Despite her fears, nothing outwardly bad seemed to have happened so far. It seemed like everything would turn out great in the end.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Things seemed to be going well after the gender reveal party. Anita pushed her worries about the pregnancy far enough in the back of her mind that they could resurface at any given moment, but they didn't burden her 24/7. That would soon change...</p><p>One day, Anita was home in bed, waiting for Victor to come home from work. She hadn't been feeling well at all lately, not helped by the fact that Lily seemed to be draining all of her energy, practically sucking the life out of her. She tended to only get out of bed whenever the twins needed something from her or she needed to take care of her own needs. Victor initially wasn't too sure about leaving her that day, but Anita insisted she would be fine and he should just go to work and focus on taking down baddies with Delphine. She tried not to worry him, but she couldn't help but get that sinking feeling that something could be wrong with their baby, as she was experiencing lots of pain throughout the night and into the day. Remembering Dr. Pertwee telling her that she might be at risk for preeclampsia certainly did not help matters.</p><p>The pain tended to occur just above her navel, but it wasn't anything like menstrual cramps nor did it even come close to feeling like Braxton Hicks contractions. Braxton Hicks contractions could be uncomfortable, sure, but they weren't really all that painful in the grand scheme of things. In fact, she wasn't sure what kind of pain this was. All she knew was that it was just there and it was bothering her. Could it have been the preeclampsia at work that Dr. Pertwee warned her about? She'd read up on it right after the appointment that day, and belly pain had been described as one of the symptoms. She hadn't brought it up to Victor at the time. Now she was starting to wish she had. She still hadn't confided in him anything about what was going on today, but it didn't matter. She planned to tell him the moment he got home from work, and she was absolutely determined to give him as many details as she could.</p><p>For now, however, Anita lay in the fetal position in bed, trying to suppress cries of pain while she tightly clutched the sheets in her hands. Even if she tried to move just an inch away from where she was, she would seize up in pain and she would gasp apprehensively. None of the pain medications she'd tried had been effective. Nonetheless, if the twins needed her, she had to soldier through the pain for their sake.</p><p>Several hours later, just as stars were starting to make themselves known in the sky, Victor came home from work and started putting away his laser gun and other things from work so the kids wouldn't get into them.</p><p>"Hey, Anita, I'm home!" he called out to her. "Man, you would not believe the day I had. Delphine and I had to fly all the way over to Siberia to take care of some tanukis who wanted to terrorize the indigenous folks over by assaulting them with their giant testicles..." He stopped speaking once he pushed open the door and saw Anita crying into her pillow with her arm cradling her bump. "Anita? Are you okay?"</p><p>"It hurts, Victor!" Anita yelled despite her efforts. "It hurts!"</p><p>"What hurts, Anita? Tell me." Victor crawled onto the bed next to Anita and reached out to touch her belly, but Anita flinched away, knowing he would exacerbate the pain. "Nothing to do with Lily, does it?"</p><p>"I'm not sure, actually... but it hurts!" Shallow breathing took over. "I-I can't breathe! I-I-I feel like I-I'm dying." Anita tore up and looked up at Victor with weary eyes. "I don't want to die, Victor..."</p><p>"O-Okay..." Victor quickly got up off the bed and called his mother on the phone. "Hello, Mom? Yeah, uh, Anita's experiencing some belly pain. No, she's not going into labor. It shouldn't be for another three months, I don't think. Anyway, could you come over and watch the kids while I take Anita to the hospital? Okay, thanks. I appreciate it, bye." With that, he hung up. "Alright, Mom should be here in just a few minutes. Afterwards, we're going to the hospital to make sure nothing is seriously wrong."</p><p>"Can we at least call Dr. Pertwee and let him know what's up?" Anita asked despite the pain. "He's probably busy tending to another patient right now."</p><p>"Oh, sure," Victor replied. "That, too."</p><hr/><p>At the hospital, Victor and Anita met up with Dr. Pertwee after the latter had wrapped up his appointment with another patient. Dr. Pertwee led the couple into a room where he proceeded to do a full upper body ultrasound on Anita, only to find nothing at all.</p><p>"Hmph," Dr. Pertwee grunted. "Strange. What if I were to do a heart tones ultrasound for...?"</p><p>"Lily," Anita interrupted. "Like those flowers Victor and I have in our garden. That's what we decided to name her."</p><p>Dr. Pertwee gave a small chuckle. "Lovely. That's actually the name of one of my granddaughters. Guess great minds think alike. Anyway, let's get this show on the road."</p><p>Anita nodded and let Dr. Pertwee check on her daughter. She squeezed Victor's hand, waiting with bated breath to know if their Lily was going to be okay. Dr. Pertwee carried on with the ultrasound and smiled at the screen, which gave Anita the impression that things were fine aside from the pain.</p><p>"Well?" Victor asked anxiously.</p><p>"She's moving around a lot, so she's very active right now," Dr. Pertwee explained. "Her heartbeat is also perfectly normal, so it's probably just her position that's been responsible for those belly pains you're experiencing."</p><p>Victor breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>Anita, on the other hand, just wrinkled her nose at this. "So what now? What can we do about this?"</p><p>"I would suggest trying a massage or a hot bath to relax your muscles and your mind, maybe with some lavender," Dr. Pertwee replied.</p><p>"That's it? Nothing's wrong?"</p><p>"Nope. Nothing whatsoever. As far as I can tell, she's healthy. She's just very hyper, is all."</p><p>Anita sighed. "Okay."</p><p>With that, she and Victor headed off for home. Not much later, she and Victor got ready for bed after they'd put the twins to sleep. While in bed, they talked for a bit about how they would handle the remainder of the pregnancy, how they would introduce the twins to their new sister, and what kind of birth plan they'd use for the big day.</p><p>"Wouldn't you rather just give birth the traditional way?" Victor was asking. "Like on a bed?"</p><p>Anita wrinkled her nose. "Eh, that just doesn't seem natural to me. I want to have a water birth. It's supposed to be more relaxing than a traditional birth."</p><p>"Aren't you worried people will find out you're a mermaid if you give birth that way?"</p><p>"What? No. I only turn into a mermaid when I come in contact with saltwater, remember?"</p><p>"Oh..." Victor blushed out of embarrassment. "Right."</p><p>"Besides," Anita continued. "When you have a water birth, you have it while surrounded only by the ones you love... and of course, the doctor."</p><p>"Eh, we can talk about this later. We shouldn't have to worry about her being born for another three months."</p><p>"I hope for your sake that you're right."</p><p>Victor chuckled. "Me too. I haven't been wrong in a while." Suddenly, he disappeared underneath the sheets and gave Anita a little kiss on the stomach. "Goodnight, Surprise Lily."</p><p>Anita smiled. "I have a good feeling she's going to love her father."</p><p>Victor resurfaced from underneath the sheets and smiled back at his wife. "Me too. Goodnight, Anita."</p><p>Anita began to lay down to sleep. "Goodnight, Victor."</p><p>Victor soon followed. Anita still worried about the pregnancy, even in her dreams. Even so, she hoped beyond hope that all of that worrying would ultimately have been for nothing. She hoped that the pain she'd experienced hours earlier really had come from Lily herself and not from any underlying problems. Hope was all she had, and it was the only thing to distract her from what could be her worst nightmare.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you haven't guessed by now, then I guess I should just get this out of the way. The story-within-a-story that inspired this was "Losing a Beloved." Yep.</p><p>Anyway, this is what the last five chapters were building up to. Enjoy, I guess.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>"Nothing in life is promised except for death." -Kanye West</em>
</p><p>Two weeks after the belly pains incident, Anita suddenly woke up at around 1:30 in the morning. Surprisingly, it wasn't Victor's soft snoring that had woken her up or even the twins crying out for whatever reason. Rather, it was Lily's movements that woke her up... or at least, lack thereof.</p><p>"Victor," Anita murmured. "Victor, wake up."</p><p>No response.</p><p>"Victor," Anita murmured again. "Victor, wake up."</p><p>Victor yawned and turned to look at her. "What is it?"</p><p>"It's Lily."</p><p>"What about her? Her kicking keeping you from sleeping or something?"</p><p>"No... actually, I can't feel her anymore."</p><p>"Maybe she's tired? You'd be tired, too, if you kicked your mom all day long."</p><p>"I mean... I know I had a problem with Liam and Millie using me like a punching bag when I was pregnant with them, but at least I knew from that that they were still alive. What if there's actually something wrong with her? I know Dr. Pertwee said last time that she was healthy, but I have a bad feeling that something's happened to her..."</p><p>Victor continued to look at her, noting the worried look on her face. "Alright, I tell you what, Anita. Just try to get some sleep. If she's still not moving or kicking by the time you wake up, go to the doctor, okay? Also, let me know if the doctor says anything, okay?"</p><p>Anita nodded. "Okay."</p><p>Victor smiled at her. "Okay. Remember, we're partners at work and in marriage."</p><p>Anita smiled back at him. "I still remember."</p><hr/><p>Anita sat in the waiting room, her hands resting tensely on her swollen belly. She had to come alone after Victor was called away on an important mission with Delphine. She asked Mildred to come watch the twins while she saw Dr. Pertwee about Lily. She wasn't sure what to expect to hear from Dr. Pertwee, but she couldn't help but get the feeling that it wasn't good. She tried to distract herself with happier memories, memories from before she'd gotten pregnant again... so many amazing memories. She remembered the first time she and Victor had brought Liam and Millie home from hospital. She remembered the first time she actually got to meet her first children. A feeling of relief had washed over her, knowing that the babies hadn't suffered any major injuries.</p><p>Meanwhile, Dr. Pertwee and a nurse waited on the other side of the door, both of them very nervous as to how Anita would take the news. Dr. Pertwee could practically feel his heart breaking just thinking about it. He knew it could only go downhill from there. The nurse was about to cry when Dr. Pertwee excused her for the rest of the day.</p><p>"Mrs. Knight?" Dr. Pertwee called out as he emerged from behind the door.</p><p>Anita looked up and followed him inside.</p><p>"Just give it to me straight, Dr. Pertwee," Anita simply said. "I can take it."</p><p>"A-Are you sure?" Dr. Pertwee asked uncertainly.</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Okay." Dr. Pertwee took a deep breath before he continued. "There's no other way I can say this… but while I was doing the sonogram on you, I couldn’t find Lily’s heartbeat…"</p><p>Anita didn't show much reaction to what she'd been told. "She's dead, isn't she?"</p><p>Dr. Pertwee sighed, trying desperately not to cry in front of his patient. "I'm afraid so."</p><p>Dr. Pertwee then did something that he had never done before in his professional career and gave her a genuine hug. It was rare and painful to inform people of these sort of things, but he figured it would be better to give her the painful truth now than to sugarcoat a lie and postpone her grief.</p><p>Anita remained deathly silent for approximately fifteen seconds.</p><p>Dr. Pertwee took it as a cue to speak again. "Well, we've got three choices on what we can do from there. One, we can perform a late-term abortion. Two, we can induce labor now. Or three, we can induce at a later date…"</p><p>Anita wasn't sure what she wanted to do with the pregnancy right then. If there was one person who could help her decide on how best to deal with this situation, it was Victor.</p><p>"Uh, Dr. Pertwee?" Anita quietly asked.</p><p>"Yes, Mrs. Knight?" Dr. Pertwee asked back.</p><p>"I'd like to talk to my husband about this first. May I?"</p><p>"Of course." Dr. Pertwee started gathering his things. "Take as much time as you need. Just let me know when you're ready. I'll be right outside."</p><p>Once Dr. Pertwee had left the room, Anita quickly called up Victor on her cellphone. It didn't take long for him to answer.</p><p>"H-Hello?" Victor asked.</p><p>"Hey, Victor," Anita said. "I saw the doctor and..."</p><p>"And what?"</p><p>"Well..." Anita told Victor everything that happened. "All that's left now is to decide on what happens with Lily. Dr. Pertwee said we could go through with a late-term abortion, we could induce labor today, or we could induce labor later this week or next week."</p><p>"Well, what do you think?"</p><p>"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you."</p><p>And so, after a lengthy discussion about the issue, it was decided that she would have labor induced a week from today. Once they'd come to that decision, Anita informed Dr. Pertwee about it and he approved.</p><hr/><p>Later that evening, Victor and Anita found themselves in the nursery that had been intended for Lily. They'd been so happy about their Surprise Lily, even after their initial doubts, and then... and then this happened. Anita sat in the rocking chair, silently crying and mourning her loss.</p><p>"It's gonna be alright," Victor tried to assure her while he stood beside her. "I promise."</p><p>"No, it's not, Victor," Anita just contradicted.</p><p>Victor firmly grasped her hand. "C'mon, Anita. Don't say that."</p><p>"Victor, I'm telling you it's not going to be okay!" Anita suddenly yelled, aggressive tears streaming down her face. "It's not! Our daughter's going to be born dead and it's all my fault!"</p><p>"Anita... it's not your fault..."</p><p>"Yes, it is, Victor! It was my body that failed her! It was my body that killed her! I killed her, Victor! I have nobody to blame for this but myself..." Her full body trembled with more silent sobs. "I... I'm so sorry. I should've aborted the moment I found out I was pregnant again..."</p><p>Victor bent down to hug her. "Anita, Anita, listen to me... this is not your fault. It's not your fault, it's not my fault, it's not our kids' faults... it's nobody's fault. Now I don't know why Lily had to die, but it wasn't our faults, okay? I don't know why these things happen, but they do, and we just have to live with that."</p><p>Anita clutched his chest and sobbed harder before quickly calming down. "O-Okay... okay. I believe you. But how do we tell the kids?"</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the rest of the week, Anita kept the nursery clean and tidy, with various shades of pink scattered in painted teddy bears. Meanwhile, Victor explained to Professor Professor and everyone else at UZZ what had happened with the pregnancy.</p><p>"Mon Dieu..." Delphine just murmured. "That's... that's awful."</p><p>"I'm so sorry that happened to you, Victor," Snorts the Duckbilled Dinosaur said. "I wouldn't wish that even on my worst enemy. Oh, right, for reasons of security, my name is Changed Daily. Today, you may call me..." His cellphone beeped. "Oh... Peter the Pufferfish."</p><p>Everyone else took a moment to laugh at their boss's new name.</p><p>"Anyway," Peter the Pufferfish continued. "My deepest condolences to you and Anita. For your sake, I hope that you'll be able to heal from this the best way you know how."</p><p>"My God..." Victor muttered. "I-I don't even know what to say."</p><p>Peter the Pufferfish just looked at Victor straight into the eyes, trying his best to appear stoic. "It's all right. You don't have to say anything right now. You just need to grieve."</p><p>"T-Thanks."</p><p>"No problem."</p><hr/><p>The day before Anita was to be induced for labor, Delphine and Anita sat down at the kitchen table and drank some tea without saying even so much as a word. It was a rare moment for Delphine to focus on something besides her work as a secret agent. She'd even turned her cellphone off so she could offer a shoulder to cry on. She knew it wouldn't be easy to try to strike a conversation with the woman she'd been a temporary replacement for, but she tried anyway.</p><p>"How are you feeling right now, Anita?" Delphine asked gently.</p><p>"I've been better, but I've also been worse," Anita replied. "I'm starting to accept that our Surprise Lily won't be coming home with us, but I don't know what happens after…"</p><p>Anita dabbed at her teary eyes with a napkin. She had done enough crying to last her lifetime within the last week, and she didn't intend to waste any more on the future.</p><p>"Have you considered what you plan to do with Lily when you've, um, given birth?" Delphine asked again.</p><p>"Well," Anita started to answer. "Victor and I have been talking about interring her in the same cemetery where my grandparents were buried."</p><p>"That's... that's actually a good idea. That way, you and Victor could take your kids to come see her whenever you can. Maybe you could also incorporate some kind of sandbox so they could also 'play' with her?" Delphine preemptively shrunk back, seeming to already try to defuse some perceived anger on Anita's part. "Just a suggestion."</p><p>Anita thought about it for a moment before giving a forlorn smile. "I love it… but I want to see what Victor thinks about that first…"</p><p>"Understandable. Talk it over with him. It might take a while before you could get something like that approved, though. Just focus on the burial for now."</p><p>Anita nodded. "Alright, I will."</p><hr/><p>The day finally came for Anita to be induced. Surprisingly, the labor process was less painful than she'd expected. After just a few hours of labor and Lily subsequently being born, the nurse proceeded to whisk Lily away and get her cleaned up. She wrapped the baby in a pink blanket and placed a pink cap ever-so-delicately upon her head. She then handed the baby over to Dr. Pertwee.</p><p>"Alright, here's Lily," Dr. Pertwee announced as he lay the baby into Anita's arms. "I'm sure you'll need some time alone with her..."</p><p>He walked off for a bit and left Lily alone with her would-be parents. Victor and Anita cradled their baby and weren't at all bothered by how absolutely tiny she was or how severely underdeveloped she was. Lily could've easily fit inside the palm of Victor's hand. Still, Victor and Anita had mentally prepared themselves for this, but they hadn't been emotionally braced themselves for when she would've been born. They spent all this time talking to her as if she were alive and observing how much she looked like them.</p><p>"She's beautiful," Victor whispered. "She looks just like you."</p><p>"She might look just like me, but she has your hair," Anita replied.</p><p>"I guess, but who knows whose eyes she would've gotten?"</p><p>"Maybe she would've gotten yours."</p><p>"Maybe." All of a sudden, Victor had an idea. "Hey, why don't I ask my mother to bring the kids down to meet Lily?"</p><p>Anita was a little taken back by this suggestion. "Are you sure? You don't think it might upset them?"</p><p>"They should at least get some kind of explanation on what happened to her."</p><p>Anita sighed heavily. "Fair enough. Call your mother real quick."</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>Victor left Anita alone to be busy with Lily while he called up his mother and asked her to bring Liam and Millie down to meet their sister.</p><p>"Are you sure you want me and the twins down there?" Mildred asked, perplexed. "You don't want to be alone?"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm sure," Victor replied. "Anita and I owe them an explanation on what happened to their little sister."</p><p>"Alright, if that's what you want to do, then I can't stop you. What room are you in and what floor?"</p><p>Victor gave his mother the directions she needed to bring Liam and Millie with her. Within several minutes, Mildred and the twins were there.</p><p>"Kids, your dad wants you to meet your little sister," Mildred told her grandchildren.</p><p>Mildred felt the tears start to well up in her eyes, but she knew she had to be strong for Victor and Anita and especially for the twins. She let them take a peek at their younger sister.</p><p>"Is she sleeping?" Millie asked curiously.</p><p>Victor and Anita looked at each other uncertainly, but they knew they had to tell them. They had to rip off the banadge.</p><p>"No, honey, she's dead," Victor told his daughter.</p><p>"Dead?" Millie asked again.</p><p>"Yeah, dead. When people die, they don't come back... ever."</p><p>Now it was Liam's turn to speak up. "Never ever?"</p><p>"Never ever," Anita answered her son.</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"Well, they just can't. People can die because they're too sick or hurt too badly. Lily... well, Lily died in my belly because she was too sick. The doctor had to give me something so I would go into labour and I could deliver her in the natural way."</p><p>"Why was Lily sick?"</p><p>"Why do you think?"</p><p>Liam thought about it for a minute. "Maybe she wasn't ready."</p><p>"I guess so. The point is, we need to accept that death is something that happens to all of us and we can't reverse it, no matter how sad it makes us."</p><p>Liam and Millie both seemed to nod in agreement.</p><p>Almost immediately, Dr. Pertwee came back into the room. "Time's up. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to take her with me."</p><p>Victor and Anita both nodded to show that they understood. </p><p>"Goodbye, sweetheart," Anita whispered while she stroked her daughter's translucent face. "Thanks for choosing us to be your family..."</p><p>"Goodbye, Surprise Lily," Victor whispered as well. "We'll... we'll never forget you."</p><p>After Victor and Anita had said their goodbyes, Dr. Pertwee proceeded to lift Lily out of Anita's arms and take her away. Part of him wanted to believe that the baby could be still alive, but he knew she wasn't. He'd confirmed it himself. As much as he hadn't wanted to do this, he knew that it was his duty as a doctor to do this. He was a father himself (as well as a grandfather), so this kind of thing tended to affect him more personally than any other medical situation. Still, he needed to be strong for his patient and give her the closure she needed.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Five years later...</em>
</p><p>Anita found herself in the same hospital room she'd been in years earlier. This time, however, it was for a much different reason. She was about to give birth to her third daughter. Funny, wasn't it? She was having her third daughter on the same day she'd had her late Surprise Lily. She couldn't help but think there was some force out there that liked to play practical jokes on people, much less her. She moaned and screamed. She was in so much pain. It was all she could feel. She couldn't tolerate the sensation, even for just a second. She just wanted it to end. She groaned and huffed, the pain ebbing and then disappearing. She panted and her throat burned. She was so hot. A cool hand pressed against her face and tilted it to the side, and then there were lips on her forehead and a calming voice.</p><p>"It's alright, Anita. It's going to be okay, I promise." Victor just stroked Anita's hair, which by this point had become drenched in sweat. "I couldn't be any prouder of you than I am now. I know you can do this."</p><p>Anita didn't say anything in response. She just bit down a scream while more tears streamed down her face, then gazed over to Victor.</p><p>"I mean it," Victor said again. "You're doing great."</p><p>"Make it stop. Please, just make the pain stop." Anita was teetering on the edge of sobbing, her face flushed and her gown drenched with sweat.</p><p>"C'mon, Anita. I know you can do this. You gotta do this. You're the strongest person I know."</p><p>“I can’t, Victor, I can’t...”</p><p>"Yes, you can!"</p><p>Anita tried to calm down. She was panicking. She knew she was panicking, but it was impossible not to do so when she was experiencing such excruciating pain. She felt another contraction begin. As soon as the contraction reached its peak, she let out an anguished cry.</p><p>"Oh my gosh!" Anita shrieked while feeling the baby's head move into position. "I can feel it! It's coming, it's coming right now!"</p><p>Victor was practically shitting himself at this point, but he tried his best to keep his composure. Despite having known each other for so long, Victor was still hesitant for her to see him show any sign of fear. He knew she knew he was nowhere near as manly as he liked to present himself, but old habits died hard. He couldn't even believe how quickly the birthing process had been progressing so far. Before he knew it, it could all be over. Soon, the hospital room door opened. Victor looked over to see Dr. Pertwee just now walking into the room, mask and gloves on.</p><p>“Please tell me we’re getting close, Doc," Victor said. "I don’t think she can take much more.”</p><p>Dr. Pertwee held up his hand and lifted up Anita’s gown, disappearing under it for a moment. When he emerged back out to the surface, he spoke some medical jargon about dilations and contractions. He then nodded to the nurse, and the door was closed.</p><p>“It’s time, Anita," Dr. Pertwee announced. "Are you ready?”</p><p>"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Anita replied uncertainly while grimacing from yet another contraction.</p><p>"That's good enough for me. Now, Mrs. Knight, I can see her head starting to crown, so I’m going to need you to push when I say so. Can you do that for me?"</p><p>"I-I'll try..."</p><p>Victor lay his hand upon her sweaty shoulder. “Hey, I'm with you, okay? Always. Now come on, Anita, you can do it. Push for me, buddy.”</p><p>Too overwhelmed to disobey, Anita started to bear down. She pushed and pushed and tried to breathe between them for what felt like hours. She couldn’t tell if minutes or hours were passing by. Over. She just wanted this to be over. She wanted her daughter to be in her arms already. Her contractions came fast and hard, giving her little time to think much about anything except bringing this child safely into the world.</p><p>“Just one more,” Dr. Pertwee said.</p><p>A surging pain pulsed through Anita, back full force, and she let loose a cry that she didn’t know she was even holding in. As her voice died down, mind totally frazzled, she slowly became aware of a baby screaming. It was such a shrill little sound, but it was also a loud and healthy sound. Anita raised her head from pillows that had now been soaked through with sweat. She smiled faintly, her ears ringing and her vision becoming blurry with freshly falling tears. Dr. Pertwee wasn't between her legs anymore. He instead was looking down upon something Anita could barely see.</p><p>"Congratulations, Mrs. Knight," Anita could hear Dr. Pertwee say. "You have a beautiful baby girl."</p><p>Dr. Pertwee held the newborn baby up for Victor and Anita to see. From what Anita could see of her, she looked so small and she still had her umbilical cord attached. It only took a few moments for Victor to nervously cut the cord and for Anita to deliver the afterbirth. Anita's exhaustion was overcome by joy at seeing her daughter, her healthy little girl, being cleaned up and wrapped in a pink towel. Dr. Pertwee then handed the baby over to Victor.</p><p>Victor felt himself tearing up while holding his new daughter in his arms. "Oh, my sweet Resurrection Lily. I love you. I love you so much. I can't believe you're already here." He slipped his finger into his daughter's hand and bounced her gently, cooing at her.</p><p>The baby slowly flickered her eyes open, trying to adjust to a world that had suddenly illuminated before her. Her eyes were a grayish-blue, which was typical for most newborns. It would probably take some time before the parents could tell whose eyes she'd gotten, but neither Victor nor Anita really cared whose eyes she'd have in the end.</p><p>"Victor..." Anita softly whined at her husband.</p><p>"What is it, Anita?" Victor asked.</p><p>"Give me the baby..."</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>Anita felt herself tearing up as she reached out for her daughter, and Victor placed her in her mother's arms. All Anita could see at this point was that round, ruddy little face staring back at her with those grayish-blue eyes and wisps of blonde hair sticking out of her head.</p><p>"H-Hey, sweetie," Anita told her new daughter. "It's me, your mummy. Welcome to the world. I hope you like it so far because this isn't all you'll get to see. You've got your dad over there and some other people I can't wait for you to meet."</p><p>Victor smiled at this. "Aw, that was beautiful, Anita."</p><p>Anita smiled back. "Thanks, Victor."</p><p>"Knock knock," said a familiar feminine voice.</p><p>Victor and Anita looked over to see Mildred standing in the doorway along with Liam and Millie.</p><p>"What are you doing here already?" Victor asked curiously.</p><p>"Well, I had a feeling that my new granddaughter would already be here by the time Liam and Millie got out of primary school," Mildred replied. "So I picked them up after school and brought them here."</p><p>"Oh, okay."</p><p>"So..." Mildred smiled cheekily. "Has she finally been born?"</p><p>Victor nodded happily. "Yep."</p><p>"Mind if we come in?"</p><p>Victor and Anita shook their heads, and Mildred proceeded to tug her grandchildren into the room behind her. The children's eyes lit up and they bounced beside the bed, their mouths turned up in little grins.</p><p>"Is that my new little sister?!" Millie practically squeaked out.</p><p>Anita laughed and nodded while brushing the blanket away from the baby's face to show the children.</p><p>"What's her name?" Liam asked curiously.</p><p>Victor and Anita both looked at each other and smiled.</p><p>“Lily,” Anita answered proudly. “Her name is Lily.”</p><p>“Wait, isn’t that the same name you gave...?” Mildred asked before her son cut her off.</p><p>“Yeah, it is.” Victor proceeded to look down at the baby with a sad smile. “It’s our way of honoring the other Lily, the one who’s heavenside.” He then quickly followed it up with, “But this Lily’s middle name is Angelica, so we’ll just call her Angie in the future.”</p><p>Mildred nodded to show she understood. “Oh, okay.”</p><p>“Ooh, pretty!" Millie exclaimed. "Can I hold her?!”</p><p>The adults laughed at her eagerness, but Angie just wasn’t having it. She fussed and began to cry, and Anita gave a knowing half smile.</p><p>“Not right now, kiddo," Victor replied. "Looks like your sister is hungry. Why don’t you and Liam go get something to eat with Grandma and we’ll call you when you can come hold her, okay?”</p><p>Millie nodded, and she and her brother rushed out of the room, Mildred in tow. Victor grabbed Anita’s chin and tugged her face sideways to kiss her lips. Anita pulled her gown apart and set Angie against her chest to eat.</p><p>"Well, it's official," Anita said.</p><p>"What is it?" Victor asked, confused.</p><p>"Our family is finally complete."</p><p>Victor nodded in agreement. "Yep, it's finally complete."</p><p>"I love you so much, Victor."</p><p>"I love you too, Anita."</p><p>Anita looked up at him with stars in her eyes, her cheeks flushed and her hair disheveled, but still looking as beautiful as the first time Victor had laid eyes on her. He thanked his lucky stars that he could spend the rest of his life with someone he knew to be a friend and a lover.</p><hr/><p>Three months after Angie had been born, the family of five proceeded to take a trip to the cemetery where Anita's grandparents had been buried all those years ago. They made it a tradition to visit Lily's grave every year on her original due date since she'd been laid to rest. It was a way to honor her memory and reflect on things that perhaps might have been. It wasn't exactly a joy to do so, but they knew they had to do it.</p><p>Parenting might have been coming more naturally to Victor and Anita as the years went by, but it never got any easier. Even though Liam and Millie were six years old now, the two secret agents still didn't have it right all the time. Then again, that was just something to expect according to Lucy Woo. Still, Liam and Millie were great kids, already proving just how altruistic and considerate they could be. Five years ago, Victor couldn't help but think. It had only been five years ago since they experienced every parent's worst nightmare. He stepped forward in front of Lily's grave and began to speak.</p><p>"Hey, Surprise Lily," Victor said. "I-I know I said that we would never forget you... and we haven't. We actually named your little sister after you. I... I can't believe it's been five years since you had to go home. Mommy and Daddy love you, and we miss you every single day. We especially miss you today because today might've been your fifth birthday."</p><p>Now it was Anita's turn to speak. "We think about who you might have been all the time. We think about what you would be doing, what mischief you’d be up to, what kind of friends you'd be making..." Her voice started to crack at this point. "And perhaps what your favorite color might be..."</p><p>Victor just squeezed his wife's hand to calm her down. Anita gave him a little smile. She knew fully well that he would do anything to try to make her feel better.</p><p>Soon, Millie swooped in and took the opportunity to talk to her little sister. "I wish you could have stayed with us somehow. I'm sure we would have been best friends."</p><p>Liam nodded in agreement. "I would have loved to share my toys with you, Lily."</p><p>Victor and Anita both chuckled at that. Kids always said the funniest things.</p><p>Victor then decided to speak again. "No matter what you would have wanted to do in life, we would have been proud of you, I'm sure of it." He cleared his throat. "Lily, we miss you so much and we love you. We'll always keep you in our hearts until the day we die and even after that."</p><p>Victor found himself feeling much calmer and steadier after he finished talking. In that moment, it somehow felt like a little piece of Lily was there with them. With every year that went by, the grief of losing Lily to stillbirth gradually lessened, but Victor and Anita both knew by now that the pain of losing a beloved (especially a beloved like their Surprise Lily) would never fully go away. It certainly helped to honor their daughter like this, though.</p><p>"That was beautiful, Victor," Anita said.</p><p>"Thanks, Anita," Victor responded. "I did my best."</p><p>"You sure did. It's... it's not easy to move past tragedy like we're doing, but you know what? We've dealt with much tougher things along the way. We've had to go up against Doctor Doctor, the Impostors, the Reptogators, the Chef, Lucky Leo, aliens, the Juseemee, and all sorts of other crazy unprecedented things. We're learning as parents what is and isn't acceptable to teach our children, and we're learning the best ways we can how to keep our children safe. It's just too bad that Lily will never get to experience any of that for herself. She'll never have to know what it's like to experience heartbreak or bullying or even failure."</p><p>Victor nodded sadly. "Yeah... yeah. At the same time, though, I don't think Lily would have wanted us to dwell on the past. She would've wanted us to move on without her and continue our lives the best way we knew how."</p><p>Anita nodded back. "Of course. I'm sure that right now, she's looking down on us and she's proud of us as her parents."</p><p>Victor smiled at this wife, still forlorn by the mood at present but at the same time hopeful for the future. "Yeah, and that is exactly how we should be living."</p><p>"Now that's the spirit." Anita then turned to look at her two oldest children. "Liam, Millie, would you like to play in the sandbox with Lily for a moment? Daddy and I are going to look at your great-grandparents' graves for a bit with Angie."</p><p>"Okay!" Liam and Millie both exclaimed simultaneously.</p><p>With that, Victor and Anita proceeded to walk Angie's pram a short distance to where Anita's grandparents had been buried, leaving the two oldest children to play in the same sandbox that Delphine had suggested all those years ago. On the trek to her grandparents' graves, Anita couldn't help but look back and watch as her twins played with their toys in the sandbox.</p><p>"Victor?" Anita asked as her eyes darted in his direction.</p><p>"Yeah, Anita?" Victor asked back.</p><p>"Do you suppose that one day, our kids will know how to handle anything that comes their way?"</p><p>"Huh? Oh yeah, of course. I mean, they're our kids, after all. They've got two secret agents for parents. Hell, their grandma is a former secret agent. I'm not saying that they might become secret agents themselves someday because of those credentials, but they've got our gumption for overcoming even the toughest obstacles and beating the odds."</p><p>"You're right. I just hope that they'll remember who they are as they're growing up."</p><p>Victor and Anita just smiled at each other as they and Angie paid a visit to the graves of Anita's grandparents. They had good reason to think that their children had inherited their gumption and tenacity, as well as their courage and determination. The kids had already displayed that from the start. They'd also learned from their parents their senses of morality and justice, and they'd learned from them what it meant to look forward to the future. In a way, the children themselves were the future, so to look forward to the future was also to look forward to what they could someday bring to the world. And what more could Victor and Anita have wanted than that?</p>
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